Getting into Action Shooting – Part 3
Combat pistol shooting has been around since the early 1900’s as military forces and law enforcement began to use handguns as a means of defense. Even back nearly 50 years ago, combat shooting was practiced by law enforcement as a means of training law enforcement officers (LEOs) to be able to effectively and accurately use their service pistols in a variety of shooting positions. A six shot revolver chambered in .38 Special was the standard staple of these LEOs so accuracy was an extremely important skill to have with their limited ammunition capacities. Remember that while a 1911 was designed over a century ago, most semi automatics were very expensive compared to the revolvers even just a few decades prior to today. This version of Combat Shooting has survived today as Police Pistol Combat (PPC) and is seen as the for-runner to current dynamic action shooting disciplines. It wasn’t until the late 1960’s and early 1970’s that the true combat shooting was starting to take shape in today’s version which incorporates drilling the concepts of threat identification and tactical awareness as well as accuracy while under stress. For readers who are in the younger generations, TPF recommends you go and look for the movie Magnum Force (1973), starring Clint Eastwood, and you will see a small snippet of the fore-runners of today’s action shooting with the “Combat Shooting Championships” in the . Please remember that movie is nearly 40 years in age and at the time action shooting sports had not been truly established. While PPC was, and is still today, practiced both a discipline and sport, it was the foundation for what developed into the modern action shooting sport, such as International Practical Shooting Confederation which was officially formed in 1976.
As the concept of getting into action shooting sports has already been addressed in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, this installment is to those individuals have already tried their hand at the fun filled world of action shooting. As TPF has inferred in the aforementioned posts, the majority of the experienced people who participate in action shooting are extremely friendly and open. Now some of these people now train others and use their vast amounts of experience and knowledge and years of refined skills to help jump start newcomers into shooting, and to enhance skills of those familiar to the sport. TPF, on behalf of the CSSA was able to interact with many of the shooters in the previous installments and get a quick tip from them. Please recall that many of these people make a living from training people how to become a better shooter and as such will only give small snippets of advice outside of a training session. TPF is honoured by the following individuals for their time and efforts at promoting the shooting sports and for their willingness to assist new shooters in some tips which they have found helpful in being a superior competitive shooter.
A huge supporter of IPSC and the owner of Freedom Ventures in Canada, Mr. Sean Hansen graciously gives TPF readers a quick tip on improving your shooting ability.
STI International sponsored competitive shooter, Mr. Blake Miguez is very open and a great individual whom was very forthcoming when asked to share his insight of how to improve one’s shooting prowess in action shooting. Mr. Miguez’s Facebook site here.
Michael Voigt is one of the true veterans of the shooting sports with many years of experience and skill under his belt. You will not how much he enjoys discussing the sport he has loved for many, many, years of dedication. Mr. Voigt’s website here.
Rob Leatham is to Action Shooting what Wayne Gretzky is to Hockey. Considered by many to be the overall grand master of knowledge and techniques from years upon years of being one of the best in the world in action shooting. Mr. Leatham’s website can be found here.
Angus Hobdell has been shooting CZ handguns for so long that the two are nearly interchangeable when talking about one or the other. A great great love for the shooting sports and a very friendly nature to all, means that Angus has no issues in letting TPF readers in on one of the small secrets for a successful shoot. Visit Angus Hobdell.s wesite here.
With a good sense of humour and a great demeanor, Ms. Tierani Hendrix is a credit to the shooting sports with her outgoing personality. While at the 2012 SHOT Show, she spared a small amount of time to give new action shooters a tip for improving. Her website can be found here.
Ms. Randi Rogers is pure gold in her enthusiasm for shooting sports and has an amazing level of skill and energy which she is always more than happy to share with new shooters. TPF was able to “co-erce” Ms. Rogers into offering a helpful hint just by asking her. Find Randi Rogers’ website here.
Para-USA Shooter, Travis Tomasie was yet another professional shooter who is happy to help out prospective shooters aquire higher skill sets and compete in action shooting sports. Travis’ website can be found here.
TPF would like to thank all the professional shooters who were willing to spend a moment of their time to assist TPF in these videos. Unfortunately these videos were all done in a limited time frame and due to these time constraints only a few were approached. If readers have any specific shooters, or questions to have asked of these shooters, please ensure that you write us with your suggestions here!
Regardless if it is Tactical, Practical, or Fantastical; the popularity of action shooting sports is on the rise. Thanks for reading!
Getting into Action Shooting – Part 2
Getting into Action Shooting – Part 2! – On behalf of TPF-Online and the CSSA! Part 1 can be found here!
Continuing the theme of how to get people into action shooting, or at least experience shooting sports in general, TPF-Online once again brings various video snippets from the ranks of the extremely knowledgeable and experienced names in action shooting. Once again however, TPF cautions that many of these interviews come from a American point of view, which is somewhat different due to the prevalence of shooting sports in the United States when compared to Canada. Thanks to the efforts of organizations like the Canadian Shooting Sports Association, podcasts like that of Canadian Reload Radio, and people who want to help grow the sport and educate the unknowing to the fun and sport of shooting.
First up is Tierani Hendrix, a wonderful person who has been shooting since 2008, only a scant 4 years; and whose skills have earned her a spot on Team Smith & Wesson along side of legendary competitive shooters like Jerry Miculek. Ms. Hendrix is consistently one of the top women shooters in the realm of IDPA, and TPF was able to snag a few moments with Ms. Hendrix while she was attending Safariland, one of her sponsors. Even with a quick sponsor plug, she tells you what who can do regarding entering into the shooting sports.
One of the legends of experience and techniques, Michael Voigt, took a small bit of time out of a hectic SHOT Show schedule to spend a bit of time with TPF and discuss with Professionally shooting since 1979, Michael Voigt has over 20 years of experience and developed techniques under his belt. Since 2001, Michael Voigt has competed with Jerry Miculek for the tops spots as Nation champion for USPSA’s 3-Gun Open division, proving that skill and experience is still a driving force in these action shooting events. Many thanks to a great gentleman and sportsmen for sharing his thoughts to the readers of TPF Online.
From the age of 11 Randi Rogers has been shooting, and shooting, and shooting. Even though her first true exposure was to Cowboy Action Shooting due to her upbringing, she has embraced almost every style and type of action shooting. A true champion who has been national champion in SASS, IDPA, IPSC, USPSA, and several other disciplines; TPF Online was pleased to be able to have Ms. Rogers give a small bit of insight into getting into action shooting. At the time of the SHOT Show when this video was taken, Randi Rogers was an employee and member of Team Glock, but has since transferred her business acumen and shooting talents to Comp-Tac.
A relative newcomer to Team Para-USA, Travis Tomasie is no stranger to guns having served in the military and being a member of the US Army Marksman Unit Shooting Team for eight years prior to joining Para-USA in 2011. Never heard of him? TPF will bet you have seen of him is you have ever looked up action shooting on Youtube. Search for the fastest reload and you’ll see Mr. Tomasie in action. Mr. Tomasie honoured TPF-Online by taking some time out of his schedule at the 2012 SHOT Show and giving his take on how to get into action shooting.
She has spent over 80% of her life shooting, and no, she is not very old at all. Tori Nonaka, shooting since she was three years old, and currently a member of Team Glock shares her ideas of how to get into action shooting. Her youth and drive are evident as Ms. Nonaka graces TPF with a few moments of her time at the 2012 SHOT Show. Many thanks to Ms. Nonaka for giving your opinion and showing TPF readers how much you love shooting!
Another veteran to shooting, Doug Koenig began his shooting career back in 1987, and is classed as one of the best all round shooters in the world. In 1999, at the age of 20, Doug Koenig was the first ever person to shoot a perfect score at the Bianchi Cup. He is a great competitor and has a wealth of experience and skills which people can learn from. Here Doug Koenig shares a moment with TPF-Online to describe how to find and get involved in action shooting sports.
Talking to these individuals is a great pleasure for reasons mentioned previously. Such individuals are thankfully not rare in the action shooting sports, and by that TPF-Online is heartened by the open and welcoming attitudes which many, if not all, of these top competitors have.
TPF hopes you the reader, and viewer in this case, hold your judgement until you see some more future shooting personalities in later installments, but as always; action shooting. Is it Tactical, Practical, or Fantastical?
Tactical, Practical & Fantastical 